August 13, 2007

Went back here to find that furniture has completely changed.Some black velvet sofas have been added – I thought it looked a bit odd and did not go with the atmosphere.Just Chocolate though seems to have become a reasonably popular college hangout and so of course, that meant closely placed chairs and tables.A bit cramped.Menu has been revised – to exclude all the frills.There are 3-4 veggie sandwich options and the rest is as the name promises – Just Chocolate.Tried the grilled vegetable and cheese sandwich.It was good.The chocolate milkshake was perfect – thick, creamy and delicious.A hot Just Chocolate special we ordered came as milk in a pot with a candle below along with a plate of chocolates that were to be dunked in the milk.It was ok.Service was polite as before.Some suggestions:

Please don’t cut the ketchup sachets before serving unless you specifically warn your customers. You can imagine the havoc a 3-year old with an opened ketchup sachet caused when she tried to open it herself.

The cutlery is stainless steel and makes too much noise and is unstable on the glass table tops.Better designed tables or cutlery would be very welcome.

January 22, 2007

Malini Suryanarayanan, a budding entrepreneur and baker, has launched an online business – Naked Desserts – to cater to chocolate-lovers in Traffic City.All you have to do is log on to http://www.nakeddesserts.com and place an order.It will be delivered to your doorstep or you can pick it up.

Currently, they have only seven items on their menu list – chocolate brownies, flourless chocolate cookies, chocolate chip cookies, strawberry squares, chocolate sampler box (a combo box with some of the above items), banana nut bread and date nut bread. I expect this list will grow as their clientele expands.

I wanted to order the brownies, a box of the flourless chocolate cookies and a loaf of each of the breads, but unfortunately Malini was leaving on vacation the next day.She said she could get me the brownies and the chocolate chip cookies and deliver it to my house the next day.And she did.The cookies were crisp and fresh – but I found them a bit too sweet.Good but not fantastic.The brownies, on the other hand, were awesome – chewy, moist, chocolatey and perfect!!

I am going to try out their other products – and will let you know.On the price front, I think they are really expensive – the cookies are, in any case. A pack of 13 of the brownies or the cookies cost Rs.125 each. Delivery charges were Rs.50 which I thought were reasonable considering she had to trek all the way to South Bangalore. I hope that with time, Malini is able to come up with more choices and more competitive prices.

January 4, 2007

A cool Italian wave seems to be sweeping over Bangalore with several gelato parlours (click here for “What is gelato?”) opening up- Mamma Mia, Gelato Pazzo and Deluca’s.Deluca’s on Church Street is located in the Daily Bread outlet, apparently they plan on having a counter in the Daily Bread main branch in Koramangala also.

Deluca’s serves regular gelatos, sugar free gelatos, sorbettos and yogurts. They claim that they make them fresh everyday and that their gelatos have “less than ½ the calories and ¼ the fat and sugar content of regular ice creams” and that the gelatos and yogurts are 96% fat free and the sorbettos are 100% fat free.All I can say is that regardless of whether they are fresh or sugar free or low fat, they absolutely rock!

Ask the helpful guy at the counter for samples to taste – and you won’t go wrong.Being a chocolate and coffee addict, I had the tiramisu – and it was a complete winner!Nut lovers will not be able to resist to the Pistacchio Natura and the Croccantino which is made with mixed nuts.And for packaged chocolate and cookie worshippers – there’s Ferrero Rocher and Oreo.In addition, they also have sinful sundaes, frappes and milkshakes.

Deluca’s is located at Daily Bread, #36/1, Church Street, Bangalore, ph: 32919774.The gelatos, sorbettos and yogurts cost between Rs.45 and Rs.60, and the sudaes are priced between Rs.130 to Rs.200.One portion of gelato is two scoops and is not very large.

So go on – pick up a sandwich or salad from Daily Bread, choose your gelato, find a nice table – and enjoy. Ciao!

January 4, 2007

Billed as a healthier and tastier alternative to ice-cream, gelato means “frozen” in Italian.Unlike ice-cream, which is made using a substantial amount of cream, gelato is made using milk. In addition, when ice-cream is being made, air is pumped into it as it is being frozen, almost doubling the ice cream volume.Gelato-making involves less air buildup and therefore gelato is denser than ice cream.The lack (or lesser amounts) of fat, as well as the high density, make the gelato a more tasty product when compared to regular ice cream.

October 30, 2006

Just chocolate is well, just yummy! This chocolate lovers paradise is well worth a visit and more. They have a wide range of chocolates – dark, white, dates, fig & honey, pistachio, tamarind and my personal favourite, marzipan. Marzipan, by the way, is a thick almond paste used in Christmas cakes and pastries. They also have chilli chocolates which I was too much of a wimp to try. They are all “home-made”, i.e. made in the shop itself. They sell the chocolates by weight (you can buy small quantities like 50 gms) and their chocolate boxes make good festive gifts . In addition, they have 4-5 flavours of “home-made” ice-cream – I loved the butterscotch flavour. They also have chocolate flavoured drinks which were nothing to write home about. They do advertise a fondue, which I am yet to try – a chocolate sauce that comes in a hot pot that you can share with your friends – each of you gets a piece of cake that you dip into the sauce.

The decor is ok – pink and blue with glass tables and dining chairs and some sofas thrown in. It has not been very crowded whenever I have visited.

The staff seem extremely professional – they look like they have been trained in a catering institute and seem to maintain very hygenic standards – gloves, caps, aprons, the works. They were also very polite and answered our questions patiently.

Just Chocolate is located at 116, 4th Block, Diagonal Road, Near Ganapathi Temple, Jayanagar, Bangalore, ph: 26343335/6 and is open from 11 am to 10 pm. This is not a very crowded area, so you can park your bike or car on the same road.